Government: Stop drink driving or face losing your car

'Serial' drink drivers will simply have their cars taken away, if new government proposals go ahead.

Set to be unveiled early next year, the plans are the latest way to try and keep boozy lawbreakers off the roads - followed up by a raft of other toughened up policies.

The Telegraph reports that the plans are already underway to tighten drink-driving laws - relieving drivers of the right to a second blood or urine test when they're only slightly over the limit.

It's hoped that this will 'close a loophole' where drivers can simply sober up as they sit in the waiting room. When queues in some rural areas reportedly take up to an hour or more, it's quite possible that drivers will be under the limit by the time the second test is taken.

Laws on drug driving are getting tighter too - with the government aiming to make it a criminal offence to simply get behind the wheel when on a substance, rather than the police having to prove that driving was impaired because of it.

It's repeated drink driving that's reportedly causing the most concern in Whitehall - with a sharp rise in figures for those convicted 'more than once' for the crime.

The AA's head of road safety, Andrew Howard, appeared wary of the plans.

"We would accept the sanction being applied to repeat offenders, but steps have to be taken to ensure it is applied fairly," he said.

"A car is often vital for a household and it would be unfair for a family to lose its car for a one-off serious offence."

Robert Gifford - executive director of the parliamentary advisory council for transport safety - was pleased, however.

"The forfeiture of vehicles would send a clear message to repeat offenders that driving is a privilege and not a right," he commented.

"It would also give the courts another route through which to enforce the law."